The present disclosure relates generally to semiconductor devices. More particularly, the present disclosure relates to the formation of silicon-containing oxides.
In order to be able to make integrated circuits (ICs), such as memory, logic, and other devices, of higher integration density than currently feasible, one has to find ways to further downscale the dimensions of semiconductor devices, e.g., field effect transistors (FETs), such as metal-oxide-semiconductor field effect transistors (MOSFETs) and complementary metal oxide semiconductors (CMOS). Scaling achieves compactness and improves operating performance in devices by shrinking the overall dimensions and operating voltages of the device while maintaining the device's electrical properties. As the overall size of the semiconductor devices decreases to less than 10 nm, high-k materials are widely used as dielectric, such as HfO2, with an ultra thin SiO2 or SiON interface layer (IL) on silicon substrate.